Union In Separation

From the very heginning, Lawrence' s work has been a focus for the discussion of man-woman relationship. The fighting point on him is of course his attitude towards the woman' s position in man-woman relationship. Although he was praised as a writer who had a complete real ination of feel ings of women and in fact very often he wrote as a woman would write, feminist appreciations of Lawrence have always been quite negative.Lawrence' s attitude towards man-woman relationship actually based on his outlook on the inevitable link between self-fuli'i llment and social responsibility: no individual can develop in isolation. On one hand, he should develop himself in the way he wants to, and on the other hand, everyone is responsible for the social peace and development.So here conies Lawrence' s attitude towards man-woman relationship, which I cover in one phrase: union in separation. Woman should be self-expressive, busy making something she needs and wants according to her own soul' s desire, and in the meantime, she should be responsible for the society she is living in, trying to keep the peace and balance between herself and the man she is living, or going to living with, that is, a family, which was regarded as the essential element to keep social peace by Lawrence.In this thesis, I am trying to analyze Lawrence' s consistent attitude towards man-woman relationship during different social phases and its new expression found in China nowadays.My thesis is mainly composed of three parts with respective analysis oi' The While I'eacock, Rainbow and Women in Love. The development, changes and reasons for these changing will be discussed respectively. The First Chapter revolves around Lawrence' s first novel, the White Peacock. In the novel Lawrence analyzes two differently-featured women figures, Lettie and Lady Crystabel. Lawrence denied Lettie' s attitude in that Lettie' s action is wholly controlled by her superego and goes against her id, which leads to her failure and unhappiness in life. As a representative of conventional women, Lettie is entirely controlled by the social command and can' t make her choice. Lady Crystabel, being a representative for modern women, calls for the women' s liberation and working right, but denies her own sexual desires and is indifferent to fundamental changes. Lawrence called for the self development not only in spiritual field but also in sex attitude. In Chapter Two the novel Rainbow is analyzed to study the perfect union of men and women. The natural force of mutual attraction between men and women is emphasized and if they just get indifferent to this attachment and isolate each other for their own development, their marriage is doomed to fail. In this part,women got much freedom, and seemed to let their id surpass the superego so far away. Lnion can' t be made unless they can made compromise between each other. In chapter Three, Women in Love is used to illustrate how ego balance the relationship between id and superego and how the perfect balance between men and women can be got. The theoretical basis of Lawrence' s insight into man and woman relationship is discussed in Chapter Four.